Uakari (, ) is the common name for the

New World monkey New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboi ...

s from the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Cacajao''. Both the English and scientific names are believed to have originated from indigenous languages. The uakaris are unusual among New World monkeys in that the tail length (15–18 cm) is substantially less than their head and body length (40–45 cm). Their bodies are covered with long, loose hair but their heads are bald. They have almost no

subcutaneous fat The subcutaneous tissue (), also called the hypodermis, hypoderm (), subcutis, or superficial fascia, is the lowermost layer of the integumentary system in vertebrates. The types of cells found in the layer are fibroblasts, adipose cells, and ...

, so their bald faces appear almost skull-like. Like their closest relatives the saki monkeys, they have projecting lower

incisor Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wher ...

s. These monkeys have the most striking red facial skin of any primate. Females choose their mates based on how red the male's face is. Evidence suggests that the red facial coloration reflects the health of the primate. The four species of uakari currently recognized are all found in the north-western

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

. The bald uakari, remarkable for its brilliant scarlet complexion, is found north of the Amazon River, and south of the Japurá River in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve. The black-headed uakari is found north of the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

and south of the Rio Negro. The Neblina uakari is found north of the Rio Negro, west of the Rio Marauiá and east of the Casiquiare canal. The Aracá uakari is currently known only from the Rio Curuduri basin. They have been observed both in small groups and in larger troops of up to 100. When traveling through the forest they move in the lower branches of the trees, though when foraging they also go up to the canopy. They mostly eat fruit, and unlike other Neotropical frugivores will consume a large amount of unripe fruit for which they have specialised dentition. They also eat flowers, seeds, invertebrates,

bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...

s and leaves. Uakari are found in neotropical

flooded or

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

forests, including

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. A phylogeographic reconstruction found that the concestor of living uakari dates to 1.7 million years ago, in the Solimões River, whence they spread and diversified following intermittent river rearrangements.

Species

Per the ASM and the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

, there are eight species in this genus: * Genus ''Cacajao'' ** Bald uakari or red uakari species group *** White bald-headed uakari, ''Cacajao calvus'' *** Ucayali bald-headed uakari, ''Cacajao ucayalii'' *** Red bald-headed uakari, ''Cacajao rubicundus'' *** Novaes' bald-headed uakari, ''Cacajao novaesi'' **Black-headed uakari species group *** Golden-backed or black-headed uakari, ''Cacajao melanocephalus'' *** Aracá uakari, ''Cacajao ayresi'' *** Neblina uakari, ''Cacajao hosomi'' In 2014 Ferrari ''et al.'' proposed an alternative taxonomy for the ''C. melanocephalus'' group which recognizes the Aracá uakari as a subspecies of the golden-backed uakari, and also recognized ''Cacajao ouakary'' as a separate species, whereas current consensus is that ''C. ouakary'' is a junior synonym of ''C. melanocephalus''. This revision is not universally accepted.

References

External links

Primate Info Net ''Cacajao'' Factsheet
* ttp://www.uakari.co.uk The Red Uakari Monkey Project {{Taxonbar, from=Q1048171 Sakis and uakaris Taxa named by René Lesson